I’m always looking for new meatless recipes, I like to make at least one or two meatless dinners a week, specially now with this pandemic and “Meatless Mondays”.

This week I decided to try a new pasta recipe, sort of like a lasagna without meat. I served it with Garlic Bread and everyone loved it! It will surely be added to our family favorites, I hope your family will love it too!

This Shrimp Scampi Cheese Dip made it’s debut on our Thanksgiving Menu last year, the family loved it so much it’s now one of our faves. We make it all the time for our Sunday night barbecues and even when we entertain. Our guests love it just as much as we do!

It’s really simple to make and so yummy! We used crostini for dipping, we like the crunch, but you can use fresh baguettes or whatever you like. I’d avoid salted crackers though, the butter and cheeses have enough salt and dipping salted crackers may get too salty.

But do keep extra ingredients on hand, you may have to make a second bowl when you have company!

Ingredients:

8 oz. medium shrimp – peeled and roughly chopped

4 tbls. salted butter

1 tbls. minced garlic

1/2 cup white wine (if you prefer non-alcoholic you can substitute chicken broth for the wine)

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

4 oz. cream cheese softened

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup grated fresh parmasean cheese

1 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Melt butter in pan.

2. Saute garlic in butter until it turns slightly brown.

3. Add shrimp and saute until shrimp starts to turn pink.

4. Add wine. Stir well and continue cooking until shrimp is cooked.

5. Remove from heat and squeeze on lemon juice. Stir.

6. Stir in cream cheese, sour cream, parmasean, and 1 cup of the mozzarella. Reserve the 1/2 mozzarella for topping. Mix very well.

7. Pour into oven safe baking dish – you will be serving it in this dish. I ran out of pretty oven safe dishes so I ended up using an aluminum pie tin.

Spinach & Artichoke Bites was a new addition to last year’s Thanksgiving Menu. My family loved them! They will be making a repeat appearance this year.

These Spinach & Artichoke Bites are super easy to make and they freeze well so you can make them in advance for large parties. Just pop them in the oven to re-heat before serving.

In this recipe I used refrigerated crescent dough that I pressed into mini muffin tins. An easier way would be to use frozen filo cups. You can buy them at your local grocery store. You’ll find them in the frozen section next to the frozen pie crusts. That’s what we did for my mom’s 80th. Birthday Party!

If you’re going to be using filo cups you can make the filling ahead of time and store in the fridge until you’re ready to fill the cups. I don’t recommend freezing the filling as it will get too watery.

Makes 24

Ingredients:

1 can refrigerated crescent dough – any brand will do

1 box frozen chopped spinach – thawed

2 large pieces marinated artichoke hearts – chopped

4 oz. cream cheese – softened

1 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

cooking spray

Directions:

Coat mini muffin tins with cooking spray.

Roll out 1 section of crescent dough on a lightly floured surface. Pinch seams together to make one large rectangular piece.

Cut dough into 12 squares using a pizza cutter. They don’t have to be neat and perfect.

Press a dough square into the muffin tin. Arrange it so that it covers at least a bit of the sides. Don’t let the dough overflow out of the cup. It doesn’t need to look perfect, but you should pinch any holes closed.

Drain the spinach and squeeze all the liquid out. You can use a clean dish towel to squeeze liquid out. Dump the thawed spinach onto a dish towel and twist the towel until no more liquid comes out.

To freeze place them in freezer bags. Use parchment paper between layers. Wrap sealed freezer bag in foil and place the whole thing in another freezer bag. You can store this for about 3 months in the freezer.

Reheat frozen bites in 375 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. I would not recommend reheating in the microwave, the crust will get soggy and the filling rubbery.

Spinach & Artichoke Bites

Print Recipe

A new twist on Spinach & Artichoke Dip. These tasty little bites are perfect for every event. They're just as yummy as the dip, but with out the mess. They look great on a buffet table too!

Roll out 1 section of crescent dough on a lightly floured surface. Pinch seams together to make one large rectangular piece.

Cut dough into 12 squares using a pizza cutter.

They don't have to be neat and perfect.

Press a dough square into the muffin tin. Arrange it so that it covers at least a bit of the sides. Don't let the dough overflow out of the cup. It doesn't need to look perfect, but you should pinch any holes closed.

Filling

Drain the spinach and squeeze all the liquid out. You can use a clean dish towel to squeeze liquid out. Dump the thawed spinach onto a dish towel and twist the towel until no more liquid comes out.
Place into mixing bowl.

To freeze place them in freezer bags. Use parchment paper between layers. Wrap sealed freezer bag in foil and place the whole thing in another freezer bag. You can store this for about 3 months in the freezer.

Reheat frozen bites in 375 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. I would not recommend reheating in the microwave, the crust will get soggy and the filling rubbery.

The holiday season is upon us. At my house that means cooking, baking, cleaning, shopping, and all the other chores to get ready for holiday entertaining. Things can get pretty hectic, at times I don’t have a lot of time to cook dinner! To make holiday preparations a bit easier I keep several ready made meal items in my freezer, things that can be heated up or tossed together quickly.

One of my favorite things are homemade meatballs. I like meatballs because I can use them to quickly prepare several different meals including Swedish meatballs, Meatball Soup, and of course Spaghetti and Meatballs.

Another family favorite are Meatball Subs. They’re so easy to make and are very filling. I serve this with a tossed salad and a side of chips, so simple! You can of course use frozen meatballs available from any grocery store, I’m not a big fan and like to make my own to freeze. Here’s my recipe for Homemade Meatballs.

Here’s how to make it, enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 large loaf French Bread – Cut to the size you want then halved lengthwise to get 2 pieces

1/4 CupButter

12 Cooked meatballs

1 Jar Pasta Sauce

3/4 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:

1. Place frozen meatballs in a heavy saucepan (or you can make them ahead and place them in a crockpot on low for about 4 hours).

2. Cover meatballs with pasta sauce. Simmer on low for about 1 hour or if you need it faster increase the heat and heat until the sauce is bubbling and meat is heated thru.

3. Butter bread and toast in a frying pan until browned.

4. Scoop meatball mixture on one side of the bread and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Sprinkle other side with cheese. Bake in 350 degree oven until cheese melts, about 8 minutes.

5. Remove from oven, place second slice of bread on top to make a sandwich and serve.

6. Divide spinach mixture equally between the pasta tubes and gently stuff each tube with the mixture.
There’s really no neat way to do this. I tried using a small spoon, but it went too slowly or tore the pasta tube. So far I’ve found the easiest, but not the neatest way to stuff the tubes is with bare fingers.
A bit messy, but it works!.

7. Place stuffed pasta into an oven safe baking pan.

8. Pour remaining pasta sauce over all.

9. Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese over sauce.

10. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until cheese melts.

If you are making it in advance, cover the pan with foil or plastic wrap and place it into the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake it. Baking time will be a bit longer, another 10 minutes or so or until the filling is warm and the cheese melted.

Divide spinach mixture equally between the pasta tubes and gently stuff each tube with the mixture.
There's really no neat way to do this. I tried using a small spoon, but it went too slowly or tore the pasta tube. So far I've found the easiest, but not the neatest way to stuff the tubes is with bare fingers.
A bit messy, but it works!.

Place stuffed pasta into an oven safe baking pan.

Pour remaining pasta sauce over all.

Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese over sauce.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until cheese melts.

If you are making it in advance, cover the pan with foil or plastic wrap and place it into the refrigerator until you're ready to bake it. Baking time will be a bit longer, another 10 minutes or so or until the filling is warm and the cheese melted.